Listing of Mitzvos

The Division of the Mitzvot According to the Halachot of the
Mishneh Torah

I saw fit to divide this text into fourteen books.

וראיתי לחלק חיבור זה לארבעה עשר ספרים:

The first book - I will include within it all the mitzvot that are the foundations of the faith [taught by] Moses, our teacher, of blessed memory, those which a person must know before everything - e.g., the unity of God, blessed be He, and the prohibition against worshipping false gods. I have called this book The Book of Knowledge.

The secondbook - I will include within it all the mitzvot that are constant and which were commanded to us so that we will love God and constantly remember Him - e.g., the recitation of the Shema, prayer, tefillin, and the priestly blessing. Circumcision is included in this category because it is a sign in our flesh to recall [God] constantly, during the times when we are not wearing tefillin, tzitzit, or the like. I have called this book The Book of Love.

The fifthbook - I will include within it all the mitzvot that involve forbidden intimate relations and those that involve forbidden foods. [I have grouped the two (forbidden intimate relations and forbidden foods) together] because it is in these two matters that God has sanctified us and separated us from the [other] nations.

[The Torah mentions the concept of holiness] with regard to both these matters, stating [Leviticus 20:24, 27]: "[I am God, your Lord,] who has separated you from among the nations... and I have set you apart among the nations." [Accordingly,] I have called this book The Book of Holiness.

The sixth book - I will include within it all the mitzvot that one is obligated in when he forbids himself [certain things] by his statements - e.g., vows and oaths. I have called this book The BookofUtterances.

The seventh book - I will include within it all the mitzvot that deal with the produce of the earth - e.g., the Sabbatical and Jubilee years, the tithes, the terumot, and the other mitzvot which are relevant to this subject. I have called this book The BookofAgricultural [Laws].

The eighth book - I will include within it all the mitzvot that involve the construction of the Temple and the communal offerings that are brought regularly. I have called this book The Bookof[the Temple and its] Service.

The eleventh book - I will include within it all the mitzvot that [govern relations] between an individual and his colleague that involve damage to property or personal injury. I have called this book The BookofDamages.

The thirteenth book - I will include within it all the mitzvot that [govern relations] between an individual and his colleague and do not involve damage at the outset - e.g., the laws of watchmen, debtors, claims lodged [against one another], and [their] denial. I have called this book The BookofJudgments.

The fourteenth book - I will include within it all the mitzvot that are delegated to the Sanhedrin - e.g., execution [when convicted by] the court, the acceptance of testimony, and the laws pertaining to a king and the wars he [wages]. I have called this book The BookofJudges.

These are [the governing principles for] the division of the Halachot of this text according to the subjects [treated in] the [different] books and the division of the mitzvot according to the subjects [treated in] the halachot.

The Listing of the Mitzvot According to the Halachot of the Mishneh Torah

[They contain] one mitzvah, to perform the service of Yom Kippur, the sacrifices, the confessions, the sending away of the goat, and the other aspects of the service, in accordance with the order prescribed in the parashah of Acharei Mot.

2. Not to partake of an unblemished firstling animal outside of Jerusalem

3. Not to redeem a firstling animal

4. To separate the tithes of one's herds

5. Not to redeem the tithes of one's herds

I have included the laws of the tithes of one's herds together with the laws of the firstling animals, because the same procedure is followed with regard to both of them. The Torah also groups the two together in the verse (Numbers 18:17): "And you shall dash their blood...." According to the oral tradition, we learn that this refers to the blood of the tithes and the blood of the firstling animals.

1. That a person who inadvertently violates a trans­gression should bring a fixed sin offering

2. That a person who does not know whether or not he violated a transgression should bring a guilt offering unless he discovers that he definitely transgressed, at which time he must bring a sin offering. This [guilt offering] is referred to as "the conditional guilt offering."

3. That a person who commits certain sins should bring a guilt offering [to atone] for their violation. This is referred to as "the definite guilt offering."

4. For a person who commits certain sins to offer [a sacrifice in] atonement. If he is rich, he should offer an animal, if he is poor, a fowl or the tenth of an ephah [of meal]. This is referred to as "the adjustable guilt offering."

5. For the Sanhedrin to offer a sacrifice if they render an erroneous decision regarding one of the serious matters [of Torah law].

2. The laws of the impurity imparted by a the carcass of a crawling animal

3. The laws of the impurity imparted by human semen.

[These halachot also deal with] the ritual impurity imparted by false gods and their accessories. This ritual impurity is equivalent to that imparted by the carcass of a crawling animal; it is a Rabbinic injunction.

The intent of] these laws is to know how one acquires ownerless property and what [legal] acts are involved, the laws governing the giving and receiving of a present; which present [does not represent a binding commitment and, therefore,] must be returned to its owner, and which [is binding] and need not be returned.

The intent of these laws is to know how land is divided between partners, the measures each must take to prevent damage to the other and their neigh­bors, and the laws governing a person's right to purchase property sold by his neighbor

1. To mourn for our relatives. Even a priest must become impure and mourn for his relatives. A person may not mourn for those executed by the court. Therefore, I have included these laws in this book because they are connected with the burial of a person on the day of his death, which is a positive commandment.

2. For a High Priest not to become impure because of his relatives

3. For him not to enter a place where a corpse is lying

4. For a common priest not to contract impurity from contact with a human corpse, with the exception of his relatives

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